New American Chemical Society video on a real stinker: The corpse flower's odor

...WASHINGTON July 29 2013 After six years of anticipation that rock ...The video produced by ACS Office of Public Affairs' award-winning Dig...Todd Brethauer a volunteer public science educator at the Botanic Gar...After mustering energy underground in its tuber for more than six year...

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2013 After six years of anticipation, that rock star of plants a rainforest giant known as the corpse flower for its putrid odor has bloomed here, and is the subject of a new video by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. It is available at http://www.bytesizescience.com.

The video, produced by ACS Office of Public Affairs' award-winning Digital Services Unit, focuses on the chemical cocktail responsible for the offensive odor of the flower. More formally known as titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum, the plant is on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden, on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

Todd Brethauer, a volunteer public science educator at the Botanic Garden who narrates the video, explains that the flower uses its strong scent not to repel but to attract. The chemicals lure pollinators with a preference for rot dung beetles and other insects that lay their eggs in the equally stinky environments of decomposing animals.

After mustering energy underground in its tuber for more than six years, the plant emerged, grew to nearly 8 feet, and bloomed for the first time on July 21. Brethauer describes the resulting cocktail as having distinct notes of rotting onions, essence of spoiled fish and old sweaty socks.

The rare event drew more than 130,000 visitors in sweltering heat to catch a glimpse of the exotic plant. But only those lucky enough to show up within the day and a half of its opening witnessed the spectacular, ephemeral bloom. In dramatic fashion, the plant closed the night after it opened and, having exhausted its energy reserves trying to reproduce, completely collapsed a couple days later. The last time one of these unpredictable plants bloomed at the garden was in 2007.

(Date:6/14/2017)... (NYSE: IBM ) is introducing several innovative partner startups ... collaboration between startups and global businesses, taking place in ... nine startups will showcase the solutions they have built with ... France is one of the ... percent increase in the number of startups created between 2012 ...

(Date:5/6/2017)... , May 5, 2017 ... just announced a new breakthrough in biometric authentication ... exploits quantum mechanical properties to perform biometric authentication. These ... smart semiconductor material created by Ram Group and ... finance, entertainment, transportation, supply chains and security. Ram ...

(Date:10/12/2017)... ... October 12, 2017 , ... ... analysis platform specifically designed for life science researchers to analyze and interpret ... Rosalind Franklin, who made a major contribution to the discovery of the ...

(Date:10/11/2017)... ... October 11, 2017 , ... Personal eye wash is a basic first aid supply ... a time. So which eye do you rinse first if a dangerous substance enters both ... Duo Eye Wash with its unique dual eye piece. , “Whether its dirt and ...